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New species of flying dinosaur found in Brazil

Aug 13, 2014, 6:03 PM EDT
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The remains of a new species of flying reptile have been classified. The fossils of 47 of the pterosaurs were found in southern Brazil. Scientists determined they lived 100 million years ago.

According to the Telegraph:

Named Caiuajara dobruskii, the pterosaurs are the first to be found so far south in the country, said the study in PLOS ONE.
The huge number of bones could represent hundreds of young and adult individuals, scientists believe.
It is the first time scientists have located a pterosaur "bone bed" containing fossils from many individuals of the same species.
The site where they were found covers an area of less than 215 square feet (20 square metres).
Caiuajara dobruskii had a large bony crest on the top of the head that changed from being small and inclined in juveniles to large and steep in adults.
The Washington Post describes the formation of the creature:
The species must have been quite social to be found in such a large group,the scientists reported in the study. The evidence suggests that these reptiles lived in colonies surrounding a lake in the otherwise dry desert. Their wingspans started out around .65 meters, and gradually reached up to 2.35 meters at maturity. Because skeletal size didn’t change much between childhood and adulthood, the study states, the reptiles were most likely able to fly at a very young age.
But one thing that did change rapidly with age was Caiuajara dobruskii’s unusual bony head crest. The ridge jutted out from a large opening in the creature’s skull, just in front of the eyes.

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